Blogging

Report: Bloggers Trusted More Than All But Family And Friends

In less than a decade, the individual blogger has become more trusted than the mainstream media and corporate brand in the eyes of consumers.

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Bloggers are now the third most trustworthy source of information, following only friends and family, according to a UK survey.

Corporate brands are near the bottom, beating out only politicians when it comes to consumer trust. Colleagues fall in the middle of the pack, trailing social media contacts.

Lawyers and law firms need to make note of the study as it’s family, friends, and colleagues which have long been where consumers and business people have turned to for information and referrals when it came to lawyers and firms.

Journalists with the mainstream media are not even trusted as much social media contacts. 57% of consumers trusted the opinions of independent bloggers while only 43% trusted the opinions of mainstream media outlets (magazines, newspapers, and online titles tied to a publisher). This doesn’t bode well long-term for law firms working with public relations professionals for media placement.

Here’s the top ten on trust.

  1. Family
  2. Friends
  3. Bloggers
  4. Social media contacts
  5. Colleagues
  6. Journalists
  7. Religious leaders
  8. Celebrities
  9. Brands
  10. Politicians

What makes bloggers more credible per the survey?

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Niche focus, sharing helpful information, authenticity, and not needing to conform to someone else’s editorial policy.

From UK Managing Director of affilinet Helen Southgate (@helenmarie21):

The fact consumers look to bloggers to provide them with information about areas of specific interest, goes right to the heart of the evolution of digital marketing. The question for bloggers is now how they go about building on this trust, maintain editorial integrity, and at the same time, monetise their site.

The media industry has changed so much in recent years. For bloggers to have become more influential on consumers purchasing decisions, speaks to the importance of why brands need to be reaching out to them to connect with their audience, as much – if not more – than they have done with more traditional media outlets…

A couple big messages for lawyers and law firms in this survey’s findings.

One is the importance of the niche law blogger for establishing trust with clients, prospective clients, referral sources, and their influencers. Other marketing channels — whether they be content marketing, public relations, and advertising with the corporate brand — may not be as trusted as bloggers.

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Second, law firms who are blogging need to look at the way they are blogging.

Though law firm group blogs are not the media, those surveyed felt they had more of connection with individual bloggers. Consumers also felt independent bloggers were more genuine and authentic and did not have to conform to another’s editorial policy.

It’s very possible that individual lawyer blogs, even with the firm’s branding done in a way to authenticate the lawyer, could be viewed as more trustworthy than a group blog carrying heavy branding of the firm. After all, corporate brands are not trusted as much as individual bloggers, per the survey.

I asked on Facebook what lawyers and legal marketing professionals thought. People generally felt it was possible for a law firm group blog to establish trust. The key to trust though was each lawyer on the blog expressing personality and having an independent voice.

There’s no question that many law firm group blogs have established trust with their audience of in-house counsel and business people. LexBlog’s Am Law 200 Benchmark Blog Report lists a good number of blogs drawing significant traffic. The huge growth in group blogs among law firms alone signal enough that law firms are finding such blogs work for business development.

Bottom line, things have really changed in the last five to ten years. In less than a decade, the individual blogger has become more trusted than the mainstream media and corporate brand in the eyes of consumers. The ramifications and opportunities this presents for law firms are huge.

Kevin O’Keefe (@kevinokeefe) is the CEO and founder ofLexBlog, which empowers lawyers to increase their visibility and accelerate business relationships online. With LexBlog’s help, legal professionals use their subject matter expertise to drive powerful business development through blogging and social media. VisitLexBlog.com.

LexBlog also hosts LXBN, the world’s largest network of professional blogs. With more than 8,000 authors, LXBN is the only media source featuring the latest lawyer-generated commentary on news and issues from around the globe. Visit lxbn.com now.

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